New Discus is not eating food

[chhabi19]

Hi,

I just bought 3 new discus. I bought one of them (4.5") from a member of this forum. He was feeding ken's foods. I got the other 2 (2.5") from a local fish store. They were feeding some kind of flakes too. It's been a couple of days since I bought them, they aren't eating at all. Sometimes they hide in the corner and other times they come out swimming, but do not eat. I've given them tetra flakes, Hikari bio-gold discus pellets and freeze-dried blood-worms. I am not sure if they eat during the night.

It's a planted tank and my parameters are ok. 82 F temp, 6.5 ph and 0 ammonia/nitrite/nitrates. I also added some air bubbler to comfort them. Also, I am going to get some fish food from Ken today and try them.

But, is it normal? One of the fish does some weird act. It bends it body in an angel and suddenly gets straight and swims off.

Please advice.

[mjs020294]

Discus are finicky eaters and its not unusual for them to lose their appetite when rehoused, especially the juveniles. We had the exact same problem when we added 5 2.5" Discus last month.

The best advice I can give is have lots of different types of food available. Ours would only eat the frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp the first week. We have slowly got them on beef heart (frozen cubes), flakes, freeze dried brine shrimp cubes (Omega One) and Omega Discus cubes.

One thing that helps us greatly is using a turkey baster ($2 form Walmart) at feeding time. Soak the food in some aquarium water and then inject it close to the Discus. It helped us make sure they all got a chance to eat. The braver Discus now attack the turkey baster as it descends into the tank.

The Omega One freeze dried brine shrimp are great. They tend to sink half way down and then re-circulate to the surface. The Discus stay active for 30 minutes waiting for them to sink and no food is reaching the aquarium floor. They have 50% protein unlike the frozen and live brine shrimp.

[MadAnthony]

I would do two things.

Find some live bloodworms.

Raise your tank temp to 86 or 88.

OK, Three things ... never mix fish from diff sources without qt first.

[mjs020294]

I would do two things.

Find some live bloodworms.

Raise your tank temp to 86 or 88.

OK, Three things ... never mix fish from diff sources without qt first.

I am not sure about that. Live black worms are OK but blood worms can carry parasites.

[diamond_discus]

Definitely increase your tank temp to 86 and even 88 ..
Turn off the tank light if we can.
I found that Frozen Blood Worm would be the best first food for all my new fishes. It's okay for the fishes not to eat for a few days. Give them time to adjust and settle down in the tank. Don't overfeed them until they start to eat.
I usually add aquarium salt to my tank with new fishes. ~2 table spoons per 10 gallon. Not sure if you can do that to your planted tank tough. The salt would help reduce the fish stress. I usually do that for the first few days and do 50% to 75% daily WC ...

BTW ... It's not a good idea to mix new fishes from different sources ... Do you have a big tank ? Any other fishes besides these 3 ? Typically you would want a school of 5 to 6 discus. If the tank is too big, the smaller fishes might be too scare .. and not even be able to find food.

[bluedimond123]

I had the exact same problom with some of my new discus i put them in my show tank first an they ate nothing, then i put them in a bare bottom 20 long an fed them frozen blood worms an they ate them fine. I would rase the temp a little as well.

[chhabi19]

Thank you guys so much for all these suggestions. I will definitely:

1)Raise the temp
2)Try turkey baster

Where can I find live worms? Frozen foods mentioned by mjs020294 cost $25-$35 just in shipping. Is there a place in MA (preferably near Natick) where I can buy these locally?

diamond_discus - my tank size and stock is in my signature.

Thanks again.

[gwrace]

You might want to try some of Mals freeze dried black worms available on this site. The fish go crazy for them.

[htruong]

I'd feed them live brine shrimp if you can buy from your lfs. IMO Live worms don't work well with planted tank because they can hide in substrate / gravel then die and could cause ammonia spike. Once they start to accept brine shrimp, slowly switching to the food you want them to eat. Good luck.

-Hoang

[mjs020294]

Where can I find live worms? Frozen foods mentioned by mjs020294 cost $25-$35 just in shipping. Is there a place in MA (preferably near Natick) where I can buy these locally?

Most shops stock Omega products. The freeze dried brine shrimp are available in small containers for about $4. Most of the pet shops and LFS's around here have a freezer with frozen bloodworm, and often beef-heart cubes for $4 a pack. We got all of those products from the local Petsmart.

1 Worcester Rd
Framingham, MA 01701
508-370-9612
2.70 miles from Natick

[bluedimond123]

I would still personally try the frozen blood worm cubes to start an then if they eat thoes you can try the live ones.
Jeff

[mjs020294]

Definitely get the frozen blood worms. Petsmart have Hikari frozen BW with added vitamins. Slightly more expensive than some of the other makes but its a top quality product.

If you go with live worms use black worms NOT blood worms.

[phatdave]

Get some live bloodworms..Theyll eat!

[bluedimond123]

Looks like we all have some things we like to use an some things we dont, the thing I dont like about live bloodworms is the parisites they can carry an if they dont eat them they will fall to the bottom an go under the gravel an decay.

[diamond_discus]

Thank you guys so much for all these suggestions. I will definitely:

1)Raise the temp
2)Try turkey baster

Where can I find live worms? Frozen foods mentioned by mjs020294 cost $25-$35 just in shipping. Is there a place in MA (preferably near Natick) where I can buy these locally?

diamond_discus - my tank size and stock is in my signature.

Thanks again.

Your other fishes might not like or be able to survive the higher temperature.
Not all plecos are compatible with Discus. With a planted tank, you really need clean food (so beefheart might not be good). I recommended getting some frozen blood worm from Petsmart. It's a lot more expensive than buying a bunch from either Jehmco or DrFosterSmith. However, if you don't need to buy a lot, then I guess it doesn't make much different. If you have other fishes in the tnank, they might eat the FBW before your discus can get to it. I also agree that you might want to try some Freeze Dried Black Worm. Those are great stuff and your fishes should go crazy for them.

I don't use live worms because it's not easy to get some locally and it's not easy to keep them. I only use frozen one or freeze dried one.

[MadAnthony]

I am not sure about that. Live black worms are OK but blood worms can carry parasites.

Thank you for the correction! I do that all the time!

Live Black worms!

[chhabi19]

I ordered these new items from Ken's place today -

1)Frozen bloodworms
2)Frozen brine shrimp
3)Beefheart flakes
4)Plankton/Krill/Spirulina flakes
5)Super Color Crumble # 2

All of them just for discus (should last me years!). I will try each of them once I get them tomorrow. Hopefully they'll start eating.

Also, I did raise the temp to 84 (didn't go 86 or 88 as suggested) considering my other fish and planted tank setup. The temp hasn't helped yet.

I will keep you guys posted..

[MadAnthony]

Also, I did raise the temp to 84 (didn't go 86 or 88 as suggested) considering my other fish and planted tank setup.

Yeah, I understand your point.

Seems to me with Discus, sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand. I all ways do what my Discus need everyone else needs to adapt.

You should bump up to 86 IMHO.

Good luck.

[mjs020294]

Increasing water temperature usually shortens the life expectancy of most fish. Fish have a decent tolerance at the lower end of their temperature scale but once it is too hot for them they suffer a lot.

Discus are perfectly happy at 82f, and many other fish including Plecos can just about tolerate that temperature. Going much above 82f will be detrimental to some fishes health, your plants and may cause a problem with algae and bacteria.

Personally I wouldn't crank the temperature up unless your fish are breeders in BB tanks. If you are having problems with juveniles then a QT tank might be the bets option until they start eating properly and gain a little weight.

[bluedimond123]

If you are having problems with juveniles then a QT tank might be the bets option until they start eating properly and gain a little weight.

I agree , that is the only way i got my first discus to eat an its the best idea to get them to eat. IMO
Jeff

[chhabi19]

If you are having problems with juveniles then a QT tank might be the bets option until they start eating properly and gain a little weight.

I don't have a QT tank.

I received Ken's food yesterday and offered them. They didn't eat them either, not even the frozen bloodworms.

[bluedimond123]

Hmmmm, thats a problem, did you leave the food in there over night?
Jeff

[mjs020294]

we have some new arrivals in a BB QT. They will not feed while I am watching but if I cover the front of the tank so they can't see me the food disappears.

Just be patent they will eat.

[chhabi19]

Hmmmm, thats a problem, did you leave the food in there over night?
Jeff

I feed once in the morning before I go to work, feed again when I get back home and drop some food before I go to sleep.


we have some new arrivals in a BB QT. They will not feed while I am watching but if I cover the front of the tank so they can't see me the food disappears.

Just be patent they will eat.

I think I agree with you. Patience is the virtue. I've noticed smaller ones getting brighter/lighter now. They were very dark when I bought them. Also, I saw one of them taking frozen brine shrimp inside its mouth and spitting out. So, may be these guys are eating at night, in my absence or just taking time to settle down.:o

[diamond_discus]

I feed once in the morning before I go to work, feed again when I get back home and drop some food before I go to sleep.


I think I agree with you. Patience is the virtue. I've noticed smaller ones getting brighter/lighter now. They were very dark when I bought them. Also, I saw one of them taking frozen brine shrimp inside its mouth and spitting out. So, may be these guys are eating at night, in my absence or just taking time to settle down.:o

Do not leave food in the tank overnight .. not good for your water. If you want to feed more times, consider using an auto feeder like the Eheim one.

[bluedimond123]

Taking food in there mouth an spitting it out is a very good sign, that what mine did at first as well.

[chhabi19]

Good news guys. I saw a small one eating regular colorful flake food (Tetra Flakes). The other small one is still taking food in and spitting out. The bigger one (4-5") hasn't eaten in front of me yet. It's exactly a week today.

[bluedimond123]

:thumbsup: Thats good the bigger one probably eats when your not around.

[mmorris]

82 F temp, 6.5 ph and 0 ammonia/nitrite/nitrates.

I live outside Northampton and I'm happy to give you some white worms. Pm me if you are interested in visiting. I'm concerned about your water stats because you shouldn't be getting 0 for nitrates. Was your tank cycled before you added the fish?

I should add that you only have three, which is well below their comfort level. I recommend a minimum of six unless you purchase a confirmed breeding pair.

[chhabi19]

I live outside Northampton and I'm happy to give you some white worms. Pm me if you are interested in visiting. I'm concerned about your water stats because you shouldn't be getting 0 for nitrates. Was your tank cycled before you added the fish?

I should add that you only have three, which is well below their comfort level. I recommend a minimum of six unless you purchase a confirmed breeding pair.

Hi, my tank is already cycled. I set the new tank with livestock, plants and some water from old tank back in January.

My wife is freaking out with frozen bloodworms (some phobia with earthworm and earthworm look-alike worms). I wouldn't bring live worms inside my house. Aren't you the one who had some discus for sale few months back? I will definitely visit you one day when you have some for sale. I still want to add few blue and fire red discus.

Btw - I saw the other smaller discus eating some food today. Yay!

[mjs020294]

Fish, particularity Discus, are just like people, they all like different food. I have one that loves an Omega One flake we feed, and another one that only really east frozen bloodworm. One of our Discus doesn't bother feeding with the others, it prefers to eat tiny particles flowing around the tank and algae.

We tried Omega One frozen BW first and they loved it. Our local store only sold Hikari BW, which was more expensive and had slightly higher protein content and added vitamins. Unfortunately the fish weren't as keen on the more expensive product, some didn't touch it. The packet ran out today and we switched back to Omega One BW, and it was a feeding frenzy.

[mmorris]

Aren't you the one who had some discus for sale few months back? I will definitely visit you one day when you have some for sale. I still want to add few blue and fire red discus.

!

I should have turqs ready in a couple of weeks. Yours should be all sorted by then. Pm me if you are interested, but it would be nice to meet you if you aren't. Tell your wife the worms are little!! :D
Glad to hear the other smaller one is eating!

[chhabi19]

Update:

Both juvies now eat whenever I feed them. They love frozen bloodworms.

The bigger one must be very shy. It goes in the corner in my presence. When I leave, it comes out. I haven't seen it eating yet. Looks healthy though. It's definitely missing the fishy treats...bloodworms..brine shrimps..